THE  MORAL  POWER  OF  THE  SACRED  SCRIPTURES 

Meredith 

Southern  Baptist  Pulpit,  v. I,  no.l 
November  1339 


STEPHEN  Bo  WEEKS 

CLASS  OF  1886;  PUD.  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 


OF  THE 


©F 


c 


I 

T  H  E 

SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT. 


Vol.  I.]  FAYETTEVILLE,  (N.  C.)  NOVEMBER,  1839.  [No. 


SERMON    I.* 
By  T.    MEREDITH, 

OF  RALEIGH,   N.    C. 

THE  MORAL  POWER  OF  THE  SACRED  SCRIPTURES. 

Jeremiah  xxiii.  29. — Is  not  my  word  like  as  a  fire?  saith  the  Lord;  and 
like  a  hammer  that  breaketh  the  rock  in  pieces? 

That  the  oracles  of  Divine  truth  are  invested  with  a  power,  sufficient 
to  subdue  the  most  stubborn  dispositions  of  men,  and,  eventually,  to  re- 
novate the  moral  elements  of  States,  Empires,  and  the  world — is  a  pro- 
position capable  of  the  most  direct  and  conclusive  proof.  Whether  this 
property  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  inherent  energy  of  the  simple  word,  or 
to  the  accompanying  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  to  both  these  agencies 
together,  it  is  no  part  of  my  present  business  to  inquire-  My  sole  object, 
on  this  occasion,  shall  be  to  enlarge  upon  the  doctrine  above  stated;  and 
particularly  to  show  the  evidence  of  its  truth,  and  its  practical  bearing 
on  the  interests  of  society. 

That  the  Word  of  God  should  possess  an  energy,  such  as  here  ascribed 
to  it,  is  precisely  what  might  be  presumed  from  the  character  of  its  Au- 
thor, and  the  obvious  design  of  its  transmission.  To  suppose  the  Ruler 
of  the  world  to  assume  the  fask  of  making  a  special  revelation  of  himself 
to  man,  without  having  in  view  the  attainment  of  an  object  proportion- 
ate to  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking,  is  to  suppose  him  chargeable 
with  a  weakness  entirely  discreditable  to  a  limited  and  imperfect  being- 
To  suppose  the  object,  in  the  case  proposed,  to  be  any  thing  short  of  a 
radical  amendment  in  the  moral  condition  of  man,  would  be  to  suppose 
a  case  of  the  most  extraordinary  incongruity  between  the  end  and  the 
means — between  the  object  contemplated,  and  the  instrumentality  de- 

*  Delivered  before  the  North  Carolina  Bible  Society,  at  its  annual  meeting,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1836.     [Printed  from  the  manuscript.] 


2  SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT. 

vised  for  its  accomplishment.  And  to  suppose,  under  such  circum- 
stances, the  appointment  of  an  instrumentality,  unattended  by  the  re- 
quisite efficiency  for  the  attainment  of  its  ends,  would  be  to  charge  the 
Deity  with  the  most  surprising  dullness  and  imbecility.  In  short,  to 
suppose  that  the  all-wise  Jehovah,  who  can  never  lack  either  the  intelli- 
gence to  devise,  or  the  strength  to  execute,  would  convict  himself  of 
the  indiscretion  of  giving  to  the  world  a  system  of  truth,  which  must, 
in  the  nature  of  the  case,  prove  a  dead  letter — which  has  no  moral  en- 
ergy, either  inherent  or  collateral,  and  which  is  destined  to  exert  no 
valuable  influence  on  the  lives  and  condition  of  men — would  be  to  sup- 
pose, as  it  seems  to  me,  what  is  contradicted  by  the  plainest  principles 
of  reason  and  common  sense.  If  these  remarks  be  correct, — and  that 
they  are,  will  be  denied,  I  presume,  by  no  one, — then  it  must  follow, 
that  there  is  a  clear  and  strong  presumption,  arising  from  the  origin  of 
the  sacred  record  itself,  in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of  the  text — in  favor  of 
the  doctrine,  that  the  Bible  is  attended  by  a  moral  power  appertaining 
to  no  other  agency  on  earth,  and  making  it  competent  to  moral  results 
of  the  most  surprising  and  stupendous  magnitude. 

What  is  clearly  deducible  from  the  presumption  of  the  case,  is  made 
a  matter  of  special  and  express  revelation.  God  has  not  left  us  to  con- 
jecture respecting  the  designs  of  his  word,  nor  respecting  its  fitness  for 
the  ends  contemplated.  He  has  told  us  expressly,  both  in  the  language 
of  prophecy  and  in  that  of  history,  not  only  what  his  purpose  is,  but 
also  that  this  purpose  shall  be  accomplished  by  the  agency  appointed. 
No  part  of  the  inspired  page  is  more  express  or  unequivocal,  than  the 
following  passage  from  the  Prophet  Isaiah: — "For  as  the  rain  cometh 
down,  and  the  snow  from  Heaven,  and  returneth  not  thither,  but  water- 
eth  the  earth,  and  maketh  it  bring  forth  and  bud,  that  it  may  give  seed 
to  the  sower  and  bread  to  the  eater:  So  shall  my  word  be  that  goeth 
forth  out  of  my  mouth:  it  shall  not  return  unto  me  void,  but  it  shall 
accomplish  that  which  I  please,  and  it  shall  prosper  in  the  thing  where- 
to I  sent  it.  For  ye  shall  go  out  with  joy  and  be  led  forth  with 
peace:  the  mountains  and  the  hills  shall  break  forth  before  you  into 
singing,  and  all  the  trees  of  the  field  shall  clap  their  hands.  Instead 
of  the  thorn  shall  come  up  the  fir  tree,  and  instead  of  the  brier  shall 
come  up  the  myrtle  tree;  and  it  shall  be  to  the  Lord  for  a  name,  for  an 
everlasting  sign  that  shall  not  be  cut  off." — Is.  lv.  10 — 13.  With  this 
prediction  I  have  now  no  further  concern  than  to  observe  the  fact  an- 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT.  S 

nounced,  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  shall  certainly  accomplish  its  endj 
and  that  that  end  is  nothing  short  of  a  thorough  amendment  in  the  moral 
condition  of  man. 

What  is  presented  in  the  Old  Testament,  in  the  form  ot  prophecy, 
and  arrayed  in  the  richest  imagery  of  poetical  conception,  is  set  forth, 
though  with  less  beauty,  yet  not  with  less  clearness,  in  the  New.  "For 
the  word  of  God  is  quick  and  powerful  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged 
sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit,  and  of 
the  joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of 
the  heart.'' — Heb.  iv.  12.  If,  in  the  former  case,  we  have  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  general  influence  of  Divine  truth,  spreading  itself  gradually 
over  entire  communities,  mollifying  the  moral  condition  of  mankind,  fer- 
tilizing the  mountains  and  valleys  of  Zion,  and  multiplying  and  extend- 
ing its  fruitful ness  to  succeeding  generations — we  have,  in  the  latter, 
an  illustration  of  the  same  principle,  operating  directly  on  individu- 
als— awakening  the  conscience,  purifying  the  fountains  of  thought,  and 
new-modelling  the  entire  elements  of  the  inner  man.  In  the  latter  case,, 
the  effect  ascribed  to  the  inspired  word  is  more  direct  and  exclusive;  in 
the  former,  more  general  and  protracted.  In  both,  however,  we  have  a 
recognition,  as  well  as  an  illustration,  of  the  principle  disclosed  in  the 
text — that  the  oracles  of  truth  are  as  a  hammer  and  a  fire  in  breaking 
to  pieces  and  in  melting  down  the  flinty  dispositions  of  men — of  forming 
anew  the  moral  elements  of  individuals,  of  communities,  and  of  the 
whole  world. 

What  is  taught  by  reason,  and  by  the  inspired  record  itself,  is  shown 
perhaps  still  more  conclusively  by  facts — by  the  history  of  revelation  and 
the  history  of  the  world.  A  few  cases  only  can  be  mentioned,  which 
must  be  recieved  as  examples  of  the  rest.  But  these  few  will  be  found 
to  be  decisive;  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  will  place  the  truth  of  the  proposi- 
tion beyond  the  reach  of  a  possible  doubt. 

When  the  apostles  of  Christ  received  their  commission  on  the  summit 
of  Olivet,  the  whole  world  was  sunk  in  crime.  "Darkness  covered  the 
earth  and  gross  darkness  the  people."  "With  the  exception  of  the  small 
province  of  Judea,  the  entire  world  were  idolaters;  the  degraded  and  pol- 
luted worshipers  of  images,  and  of  four-footed  beasts,  and  of  creeping 
things.  And  even  in  this  trifling  remnant  not  wholly  given  to  idols, 
there  was  a  moral  darkness  not  less  dense,  and  inveterate, and  degrading, 
than  in  the  other  portions  of  the  earth.     Indeed  all  nations  of  men,  all 


4  SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT. 

States  of  society,  and  all  ranks  in  life,  were  about  equally  depraved,  and 
equally  debased.  The  vilest  lusts,  the  most  malignant  passions,  the 
most  polluted  and  polluting  principles,  and  the  most  odious  and  iniquitous 
practices,  were  everywhere  tolerated,  commended,  and  honored.  Even 
the  philosophers,  the  lights  of  the  world,  the  pride  and  boast  of  the  age, 
whatever  their  attainments  in  science  and  the  aits,  were  about  equally 
removed  from  virtue,  and  equally  sunk  in  crime.  As  for  the  true  God, 
he  was  neither  worshipped,  nor  respected,  nor  known.  If  the  name  of 
virtue  was  used  at  all,  it  was  only  to  be  perverted  and  insulted.  And 
there  was  scarcely  a  vice  practised  or  known  among  men,  which  had  not 
been  constituted  a  divinity  and  presented  with  divine  honors.  Such  was 
the  moral  condition  of  the  world — of  Jews  as  well  as  Gentiles — of  the 
learned  and  polite  as  well  as  the  unlearned  and  the  rude — when  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  commanded  his  disciples  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  to  the 
world.  These  men  obeyed  the  injunction  of  their  ascended  Lord.  They 
commenced  at  Jerusalem  and  went  forth  among  the  nations.  Without 
wealth,  or  friends,  or  personal  influence;  without  the  support  of  secular 
power;  without  any  thing  to  recommend  them  but  the  purity  of  their 
lives  and  the  demonstration  of  the  truth,  they  prosecuted  the  duties  of 
their  commission.  And  although  opposed  by  popular  opinion  and  popular 
prejudice,  by  the  pride  and  enmity  of  the  human  heart,  and  by  the  com- 
bined terrors  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authority,  yet  mark  the  result! 
In  less  than  a  century  the  christian  system  had  made  its  way  over  every 
part  of  the  known  world;  and  in  little  more  than  three  hundred  years 
Christianity  was  seated  on  the  throne  of  the  Caesars,  giving  laws  to  the 
nations,  and  holding  her  sceptre  over  a  converted  world. 

That  this  change  constituted  the  most  thorough,  extensive,  and  deci- 
sive revolution  that  the  nations  of  the  earth  had  experienced  or  known, 
will  be  denied  by  no  one  at  all  qualified  to  judge  in  the  case.  Revolu- 
tions there  had  certainly  been;  but  they  had  been  wrought  by  the  hand 
of  violence,  and  had  been  confined  to  limited  portions  of  territory. — 
Cities  had  been  built,  and  had  been  demolished;  empires  had  arisen, 
and  had  fallen;  nations  had  been  founded  and  exterminated — 
but  all  these  changes  were  to  be  ascribed  to  the  action  of  human  force, 
and  were  as  limited  in  the  duration  of  their  existence,  as  in  the  extent 
of  territory  to  which  they  belonged.  But  the  revolution  of  which  I 
speak  was  totally  diiferent  in  its  kind,  its  extent,  its  duration.  It  was 
not  so  much  a  change  in  government  and  laws,  and  in  the  outward 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT.  5 

forms  and  institutions  of  society,  as  in  morals  and  religion — in  the  dis- 
positions, the  habits,  the  characters  of  men.  It  was  not  restricted  to  a 
tribe,  a  nation,  or  an  empire;  but  was  eventually  commensurate  with 
the  known  population  of  the  earth.  Nor  was  it  the  ephemeral  product 
of  a  few  months,  or  a  few  years.  It  was  the  enduring  growth  of  centu- 
ries, and  only  took  deeper  root  as  the  progress  of  ages  advanced. 

That  the  aforesaid  revolution  was  the  effect  of  revealed  truth  on  the 
hearts  and  consciences  of  men,  is  equally  beyond  the  reach  of  a  ques- 
tion. For  the  express  purpose  of  evincing  this  fact,  God  had  wisely 
disconnected  the  administration  of  his  word  with  all  facilities  and  in- 
strumentalities which  could  possibly  arrogate  to  themselves  the  credit 
of  the  natural  effects  which  followed.  Had  Christ  selected  his  minis- 
ters out  of  the  rich,  and  noble,  and  powerful  of  the  earth — had  they  gone 
forth  armed  with  secular  or  ecclesiastical  authority — or  had  they  carried 
with  them  the  influence  which  rank  and  fortune  never  fail  to  impart, — 
the  inference  might  have  been  otherwise.  But  when  it  is  recollected 
that  never  was  undertaking  prosecuted  with  less  of  human  sufficiency 
about  it;  when  it  is  considered  that  the  persons  chosen — whether  their 
number,  their  natural  qualifications,  or  their  standing  in  society,  be 
contemplated — were,  of  all  others,  the  least  calculated  to  secure  the  re- 
sult that  ensued;  and  more  especially,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  it 
was  plainly  beyond  the  power  of  such  agents  to  produce  such  effects, 
the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  the  revolution  in  question  is  to  be  im- 
puted to  the  triumphant  energies  of  revealed  truth.  Surely  if  there  was 
ever  a  case  in  which  the  effect  was  clearly  traceable  to  its  appropriate 
cause,  the  case  in  hand  is  one.  And  if  there  has  ever  been  a  revolu- 
tion produced  among  men,  whether  important  or  unimportant,  that  could 
be  positively  referred  to  the  action  of  a  given  agent,  then  may  the  revo- 
lution in  view  be  ascribed  to  the  action  of  Divine  truth. 

As  another  example  of  the  unparralleled  efficiency  of  God's  word,  I 
would  mention  the  reformation  of  Luther.  The  age  of  the  apostles  had 
passed  away;  the  men  of  primitive  times  had  been  long  in  their  graves; 
Christianity  had  been  received  into  the  halls  of  the  great,  and  into  the 
schools  of  the  learned;  church  and  State  had  been  united,  and  the  au- 
thority of  the  latter  had  been  employed  to  sustain  and  aggrandise  the 
former;  the  door  of  admission  to  the  temple  and  to  the  altar,  had  been 
opened  to  all,  and  the  strongest  inducements  had  been  offered  to  enter. 
Corruption  had  thus  come  in  like  a  Hood.    The  spirit  of  primitive  chris- 


6  SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT. 

tianity  had  fled,  and  the  "Man  of  Sin"  had  swayed  his  iron  sceptre  over 
the  world. 

In  those  days  of  darkness,  superstition,  and  crime,  when  the  spirit  of 
primitive  godliness  was  departed,  and  the  lamp  of  revealed  truth  was 
well  nigh  extinct;  when  an  endless  variety  of  forms  had  usurped  the 
seat  of  the  former,  and  the  traditions  of  men  had  supplied  the  place  of 
the  latter;  then  it  was  that  Martin  Luther  arose  in  Germany;  and,  soar- 
ing above  the  region  of  early  prejudice,  bursting  loose  from  the  fetters 
of  long  cherished  habit,  and  defying  the  terrors  of  papal  and  secular 
domination,  he  dared  to  proclaim  and  defend  the  truth  as  first  announced 
by  the  apostles.  The  effect  was  no  less  splendid  than  sudden  and  un- 
expected. The  light  of  truth  spread  with  the  rapidity  of  the  morning 
dawn;  the  consciences  of  men  asserted  their  freedom;  the  powers 
of  darkness  were  shaken;  the  empire  of  spiritual  despotism  was  con- 
vulsed and  overturned;  and  another  revolution,  but  little  inferior  to 
the  preceding,  speedily  burst  upon  Europe.  That  this  revolution  was 
vast  in  extent,  deep  and  effectual  in  its  nature,  and  unspeakably  mo- 
mentous in  its  consequences,  will  be  questioned  by  no  one.  And  that 
it  owes  its  existence  not  to  the  wisdom,  nor  the  will,  nor  the  might  of 
man;  but  to  the  unparralleled  energies  of  primitive  truth,  freed  from 
the  restrictions  of  papal  enactments,  and  rescued  from  the  oblivion  of 
papal  corruption,  is  not  less  clear  and  undeniable. 

Another  convincing  proof  of  the  moral  power  of  revelation  is  found  in 
the  effect  of  modern  missions.  Let  the  simple-hearted,  unsophisticated 
missionary  leave  his  home,  and  erect  the  standard  of  the  cross  on  for- 
eign shores;  let  him  approach  the  untaught  native  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel — in  the  attitude  and  manner  of  a  christian  disciple;  let  him  car- 
ry with  him  neither  wealth,  nor  arms,  nor  national  consequence,  nor  any 
tiling  else  except  the  simple  Word  of  Life,  and  the  temper  and  disposi- 
tion of  its  Author;  let  him  present  the  heathen  with  the  Scriptures  in 
their  native  dialect,  and  with  the  doctrines  of  the  cross  in  his  daily  min- 
istrations— and  mark  the  result.  lie  may  indeed  incur  the  reproach  and 
displeasure  of  those  whom  he  has  gone  to  rescue;  the  pure  and  prying- 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel  may  stir  up  the  dormant  enmities  of  the  natural 
heart;  the  arm  of  persecution  may  be  raised,  and  the  sword  of  personal 
violence  may  be  drawn;  but  the  seed  sown  will  not  be  lost,  nor  will  it 
rot  in  the  ground;  sooner  or  later  it  will  take  root  and  grow;  the  wild 
and  unsubdued  savage  will  presently  begin  to  feci  an  influence,  to  him 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT.  7 

before  unknown;  one  after  another  will  throw  away  his  idols,  and  joy- 
fully embrace  the  christian  faith;  the  Word  of  the  Lord  will  run  and  be 
glorified;  opposition  will  gradually  give  way  before  the  march  of  truth; 
the  sword  will  eventually  be  returned  to  the  scabbard,  and  the  hand  ot 
friendship  and  of  gratitude  will  be  extended  in  its  stead;  "the  church 
will  arise  and  spread  in  the  wilderness;  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house  will  be  exalted  above  the  hills,  and  all  the  trees  of  the  valley  will 
clap  their  hands  together." 

Let  me  not  be  told  that  all  this  is  conjecture — that  it  is  a  mere  matter 
of  calculation,  made  without  data  and  without  truth.  On  the  contrary,  it 
is  nothing  short  of  absolute  fact.  It  is  only  that  which  has  occurred 
agrain  and  again  since  the  era  of  modern  missions,  and  which  is  even 
now  taking  place  on  the  right  hand  and  the  left.  Look,  for  example, 
at  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  the  Indian,  and  Southern  oceans.  Look 
at  the  coasts  and  the  interior  of  the  African  Continent.  Look  at  the 
missions  established  in  the  different  parts  of  Southern  and  Eastern  India. 
Look  at  Greenland,  and  Iceland,  and  Lapland.  And  look  at  the  forests 
and  dark  places  of  our  own  country.  What,  I  ask,  has  produced  these 
changes — these  unprecedented  revolutions  in  the  moral,  the  civil,  and 
the  social  condition  of  these  people?  What  has  weaned  them  from  their 
idols,  and  brought  them  to  worship  the  only  true  God?  What  has  in- 
duced them  to  exchange  the  instruments  of  savage  and  sanguinary  war- 
fare* for  those  of  the  peaceful  and  useful  arts? — In  a  word,  what  has 
taught  them  to  relinquish  the  habits  and  practices  of  uncivilized  life,  for 
the  sensible  forms  of  a  rational  religion,  and  the  quiet  institutions  of  en- 
lightened society?  What,  I  ask,  has  been  the  means  of  doing  all  this? 
The  question  admits  of  but  one  answer.  The  missionary  of  the  cross 
has  been  there;  the  gospel  has  been  translated  into  their  mother  tongue; 
they  have  learned  the  doctrines  of  the  christian  faith;  they  have  felt 
the  mysterious  and  transforming  influence  of  revealed  truth;  and  it  is 
this,  and  this  only,  that  can  accountTor  the  revolution  wrought  in  both 
their  civil  and  religious  condition. 

In  an  argument  on  this  point,  the  history  of  the  French  revolution 
should  never  be  passed  over  in  silence.  Near  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
the  corruptions  and  abuses  of  popery  in  France,  had  arisen  to  a  point  of 
extreme  aggravation.  In  a  state  of  society,  enlightened  as  was  a  large 
proportion  of  the  French  people,  a  religious  system,  such  as  that  which 
then  prevailed  in  that  country,  could  not  fail  to  excite  general   disgust 


8  SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT. 

and  abhorrence.  Failing,  however,  to  discriminate  between  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  the  christian  faith,  and  the  corruptions  which  popery 
had  engrafted  upon  it;  and  thus  taking  it  for  granted  that  Christianity 
and  popery  were  one  and  the  same  thing,  the  French  nation,  instead  of 
discarding  the  corruptions  of  their  religion,  unwisely  resolved  to  dis- 
card the  religion  itself.  The  consequence  was  a  sudden  and  violent 
transition  from  one  extreme  to  the  other — from  the  utmost  limits  of  su- 
perstition and  religious  slavery,  to  all  the  excesses  of  the  most  licentious 
scepticism.  Christianity  was  assailed  on  every  hand  as  a  system  of 
imposture,  fanaticism,  and  priestcraft;  the  Bible  was  condemned  and 
execrated  as  the  most  detestable  of  impositions;  the  churches  were 
closed;  the  institutions  of  religion  were  abolished;  and  the  influence  of 
revelation  was  suppressed,  throughout  the  land.  And  now  observe  the 
consequence.  To  give  the  details  of  this  dark  and  dreadful  period,  I 
have  now  neither  the  time  nor  the  inclination.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that 
principles  of  the  most  odious  nature  sprang  up  with  the  rankness  and 
luxuriance  of  noxious  plants;  moral  corruption  spread  over  the  land  with 
the  impetuosity  of  an  overwhelming  torrent;  the  landmarks  of  social  or- 
der were  demolished,  and  the  feelings  of  humanity  and  of  natural  affec- 
tion were  extinguished;  anarchy,  in  its  most  frightful  form,  usurped  the 
seats  of  justice,  and  took  possession  of  the  altars  of  religion;  the  will  of 
the  mob  was  made  the  law  of  the  land;  and  the  nation  was  drenched  in 
the  blood  of  her  most  virtuous  citizens. 

Now  the  question  to  be  asked  here,  is  this:  Had  the  Bible  been  given 
to  the  people — had  the  volume  of  inspired  wisdom,  rescued  from  the 
traditions  by  which  it  had  been  caricatured,  been  put  into  the  hands  of 
the  entire  population — had  it  been  permitted  to  retain  its  appropriate 
elevation  and  influence  as  the  revealed  will  of  the  Most  High — and,  in 
addition  to  this,  had  the  churches  been  kept  open,  and  the  forms  of  the 
Gospel  been  observed,  and  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath  been  respect- 
ed, and  the  obligations  of  a  pure  Christianity  been  enforced — would 
these  consequences  have  followed?  Would  the  enormities  of  the  French 
revolution  have  ever  disgraced  the  history  of  nations? — or  would  the 
sanguinary  proceedings  of  the  National  Convention  have  ever  scourged 
the  French  people?  Beyond  a  doubt,  if  we  can  be  permitted  to  reason 
from  analogy — and  this  is  the  only  way  in  which  we  can  reason  at  all 
on  the  subject — this  question  must  be  answered  in  the  negative.  Most 
unquestionably,  if  the  enormities  of  that  fearful  period  are  attributable  to 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT.  9 

any  known  cause,   that  cause  is  to  be  found  in  the  rejection  of  the 
Bible. 

If  the  doctrine  of  the  text  has  now  been  established — if  it  has  been 
shown  and  received  as  true,  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  are  invested  with  a  moral  influence  sufficient  to  renovate 
the  elements  of  human  society — and  if  it  be  admitted,  moreover,  that 
the  said  Scriptures  constitute  the  only  known  instrumentality  possess- 
ing this  influence,  then,  it  must  follow,  undeniably,  that  the  Bible  is 
the  great  safeguard  of  nations;  the  main  preservation  from  corruption, 
anarchy,  and  ruin;  and  the  primary  conductor  to  the  highest  attain- 
ments in  social  virtue,  and  in  all  the  blessings  of  civil  and  religious 
freedom.  And  more  especially  must  it  follow  that  the  Bible  is  the 
great  palladium  of  our  own  government — which  is  essentially  popular 
in  its  form,  and  in  which  every  thing  depends  on  the  purity  of  the  popu- 
lar mass. 

With  a  view  of  illustrating  the  importance  of  this  conclusion,  and 
particularly  under  the  existing  circumstances  of  this  country,  I  shall 
take  the  liberty  to  descend  somewhat  into  detail. 

What  then,  I  ask,  are  the  dangers  to  which,  as  a  nation,  we  are  at 
present  exposed,  and  which  threaten,  to  some  extent,  the  destruction 
of  our  civil  and  religious  institutions? 

I  answer,  in  the  first  place,  we  are  threatened  with  the  invasion 
of  the  "Man  of  Sin" — with  the  usurpations  of  papal  tyranny  and  op- 
pression. I  am  by  no  means  prepared  to  admit  that  the  danger  on  this 
point  is  as  great  as  many  people  imagine;  nor  do  I  credit  half  the 
alarming  statements  that  are  abroad  in  the  land.  There  are  several 
things,  however,  touching  this  matter,  which  can  be  neither  denied  nor 
disguised.  It  is  not  to  be  doubted,  for  example,  that  European  Catho- 
lics, the  Roman  Pontiff  at  their  head,  are  making  lofty  calculations  on 
the  triumphs  of  their  cause  in  this  country.  With  this  view,  their  pop- 
ulation is  pouring  in  upon  us  like  an  overwhelming  and  inexhaustible 
torrent.  Their  priests  are  crowding  our  seaports,  and  spreading  them 
selves  through  the  interior;  and  their  treasures  are  employed,  with  a 
vastly  increased  profusion,  in  the  erection  of  churches,  the  establish- 
ment of  nunneries,  and  the  support  of  the  priesthood.  These  facts, 
added  to  the  open  avowals,  and  the  bold  and  presumptuous  measures, 
occasionally  witnessed  in  this  country,  leave  no  room  for  a  doubt  with 
regard  to  the  existing  schemes  of  the  papal  hierarchy.  And  when  to 
vol.  1,  no.  1 2 


10  SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT. 

these  considerations  are  added  the  zeal  which  has  ever  distinguished 
the  partisans  of  the  Romish  church,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  excessive 
apathy  and  unbelief  of  nominal  Protestants,  on  the  other,  it  is  not  to 
be  questioned  that  the  forces  of  the  former  are  destined  to  be  vastly 
augmented  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  And  when  it  is  recollected 
that  Popery  is  the  same  thing  now  that  it  was  eight  centuries  ago — that 
it  combines  the  same  principles  of  civil  and  religious  despotism  that 
have  hurled  monarchs  from  their  thrones  and  even  bound  empires  in 
chains,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  if  this  country  does  not  become  enslaved, 
it  will  not  be  for  the  want  of  an  effort  to  accomplish  that  object.  In 
short,  there  is  evidently  a  conflict  at  hand — a  conflict  in  which  the  ad- 
herents of  Popery,  and  the  advocates  of  civil  and  religious  freedom, 
will  be  brought  into  fearful  collision,  and  in  which  the  liberties  of  this 
land  will  be  the  price  of  contention. 

If  this  view  of  the  case  be  correct,  and  that  it  is  I  can  see  no  cause 
for  a  doubt,  then  the  question  to  be  asked,  is  this:  What  shall  be  the 
mode  of  defence,  and  what  the  means  of  deliverance?  Shall  we  resort 
to  the  sword;  to  exclusive  and  oppressive  enactments;  or  to  any  of  the 
forms  of  religious  persecution?  Shall  we  serve  the  Catholics  as  Catho- 
lics have  been  wont  to  serve  Protestants,  and  repay  upon  the  present 
generation  the  long  arrears  of  bloody  and  vindictive  measures?  By  no 
means.  The  voice  of  religion  says,  no;  the  voice  of  humanity  says,  no; 
the  voice  of  wisdom  and  of  good  policy  says,  no.  "What  then  should 
be  done? 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  obvious.  Give  the  Bible  to  the  peo- 
ple. Let  Protestants  carry  out  their  principles.  Let  the  ordinances 
of  religion  be  sustained.  Let  the  public  administration  of  the  Gospel 
be  supported.  Let  the  rising  generation  be  taught  to  read  and  to  re- 
vere the  oracles  of  inspired  wisdom.  But  above  all,  let  the  copies  of 
the  Scriptures  be  multiplied.  Let  every  house  have  the  Bible — and 
there  is  nothing  to  be  feared.  The  purifying  influence  of  the  inspired 
page  will  be  spread  throughout  all  the  avenues  and  secret  recesses  of 
the  social  mass.  And  when  that  influence  is  felt  in  an  entire  commu- 
nity, enlightening  the  understanding,  elevating  the  desires,  liberating 
the  thoughts,  and  stimulating  the  moral  energies  of  the  population,  pa- 
pal domination  will  contend  in  vain. 

Another  enemy  to  the  civil  and  religious  institutions  of  this  country, 
is  to  be  found  in  the  various  forms  of  infidelity.    It  is  well  known  that 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT.  11 

there  are  now  organised  combinations  in  several  of  our  cities,  insti- 
tuted for  the  express  purpose  of  sapping  the  foundation  of  revealed  re- 
ligion. With  this  view  the  Bible  is  discarded  and  stigmatized  as  a  vo- 
lume of  fables;  its  Author  is  derided  as  the  foulest  of  impostors;  the 
forms  of  religion  are  ridiculed  and  despised  as  the  fruit  of  fanaticism; 
the  Sabbath  is  habitually  and  systematically  desecrated;  and  in  addi- 
tion to  all  the  rest,  doctrines  are  boldly  propagated,  which  strike  at  the 
root  not  of  Christianity  only,  but  of  many  of  the  virtues  indispensable 
to  the  existence  of  society.  And  all  this  is  done  in  the  open  face  of 
day,  and  in  the  very  centres  of  social  and  commercial  influence.  It  is 
upheld  and  patronised  by  men  of  talents,  of  learning,  and  of  elevated 
standing  in  society.  And  the  deleterious  influence  of  sucirdoctrines 
and  such  measures,  is  transmitted  through  the  length  and  breadth  of 
the  nation,  by  the  well  known  power  of  the  periodical  press. 

In  view  of  these  facts  I  would  say,  only  let  the  present  system  of 
operations  proceed:  let  such  popular  teachers  as  Robert  Owen,  and  Ab- 
ner  Kneeland,  and  Fanny  Wright,  have  their  sway;  let  such  papers  as 
the  "Boston  Investigator"  be  circulated  and  read;  let  the  Bible  be  set 
aside,  and  the  institutions  of  religion  be  abolished,  and  the  Sabbath  be 
made  as  other  days  of  the  week — and  let  all  th?s  be  continued  for  a 
succession  of  years,  and  let  it  become  general  in  the  nation — and  I 
ask,  What  will  our  institutions  be  worth? — where  will  be  the  landmarks 
of  social  order? — and  where  the  ensigns  of  civil  freedom? 

To  answer  these  questions  I  happen  to  have  a  case  in  point.  I  mean 
the  French  Revolution.  I  have  already  had  occasion  to  allude  to  this 
dark  point  in  the  history  of  nations.  I  have  already  shown  how  Roman- 
ism gave  rise  to  infidelity,  and  how  infidelity,  like  a  mighty  inundation, 
bursting  over  its  natural  barriers,  carried  moral  desolation  over  the 
land — sweeping  away  the  tribunals  of  public  and  private  justice — pros- 
trating all  law  and  social  and  civil  order,  and  producing  the  most' 
frightful  state  of  anarchy  and  ruin  that  terrified  nations  ever  beheld. 

With  the  horrors  witnessed  in  France  in  the  last  century,  and  the 
well  known  cause  or  causes  which  produced  them,  before  his  eyes, — 
let  no  one  presume  to  persuade  himself  that  this  nation  has  nothing  to 
apprehend  from  the  scepticism  which  is  already  rife  and  rampant  in  the 
land.  Be  assured,  this  system  of  disorganization  and  of  demoraliza- 
tion must  be  checked,  and  in  due  season  too,  or  succeeding  generations 


1£  SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT. 

will  have  cause  to  mourn  over  the  apathy  and  neglect  of  their  faithless 
predecessors. 

The  question  arises  here  as  before — What  is  the  remedy?  As  before, 
I  answer,  the  Bible.  Only  let  Christians  do  their  duty  by  keeping 
pure  the  fountains  of  knowledge,  and  supporting  the  regular  adminis- 
tration of  religious  instruction;  let  the  pulpit  be  supplied  with  able  and 
faithful  ministers,  and  the  Sunday  schools  with  zealous  and  competent 
teachers;  and  above  every  thing  else,  let  every  member  of  society  have 
his  Bible;  and  the  nation  can  have  but  little  to  fear.  That  Word  of  Life 
and  consolation  which  has  so  often  dispelled  the  clouds  of  popular  de- 
lusion; which  has  so  often  curbed  and  subdued  the  headlong  passions 
of  men;  which  has  so  often  stayed  the  tide  of  licentious  freedom;  and 
rescued  nations  from  the  dominion  of  Anti-Christ,  is  the  same  now  that 
it  has  ever  been.  Be  assured,  my  hearers,  so  long  as  the  people  of 
this  nation  shall  have  the  Bible — so  long  as  this  invaluable  volume  shall 
be  duly  read  and  respected  throughout  the  country,  infidelity  will  ex- 
ert its  strength  in  vain. 

Another  source  of  danger  inseparably  connected  with  the  preceding, 
and  not  improbably  growing  out  of  it,  is  popular  excitement.  That  the 
authority  of  law,  in  many  portions  of  the  nation,  has,  of  late  years, 
been  greatly  reduced,  no  one  can  doubt  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with 
the  present  state  of  the  country.  Instances  of  popular  violence,  in 
which  the  majesty  of  the  law  has  been  trampled  under  foot,  and  the 
secular  arm  has  been  resisted,  and  personal  rights  have  been  invaded, 
and  the  peace  and  order  of  society  have  been  violated,  have  become  al- 
most matters  of  every  day  occurrence.  Of  the  general  correctness  of 
this  statement,  no  one  can  doubt  who  has  the  least  familiarity  with  the 
history  of  the  times.  To  what  cause  or  causes  these  disorders  are  to 
be  ascribed,  it  is  no  part  of  my  present  business  to  determine.  Of  this, 
however,  we  may  be  assured: — if  the  evil  be  not  arrested — if  the  arm  of 
the  law,  and  of  the  civil  magistrate,  be  not  strengthened — if  the  princi- 
ple of  popular  insubordination  continue  to  be  tolerated,  and  the  law  of 
mobs  be  permitted  to  become  the  law  of  the  land,  then,  we  may  bid 
farewell  to  every  thing  dear  in  popular  rights,  in  social  harmony,  and 
in  civil  and  religious  freedom.  The  nation  will  become  the  prey  of 
popular  commotion;  and  the  land,  the  theatre  of  violence,  anarchy,  and 
bloodshed. 

Again  the  question  occurs — Where  shall  wc  look  for  the  remedy? — 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT.  13 

And  again  I  must  point  to  the  "Bible.  I  am  aware  that  it  may  be  said, 
that  the  immediate  remedy  is  to  be  found  in  maintaining  the  majesty 
of  the  laws,  and  in  visiting  every  offence  with  its  appropriate  penalty. 
Granted.  But  I  ask,  how  is  the  secular  arm  to  be  strengthened, 
especially  in  a  Government  like  this,  without  a  corresponding  change 
in  the  popular  will?  And  how  shall  such  change  be  wrought  in  the 
popular  will,  but  by  first  purifying  the  popular  mass?  And  where  is 
the  agent,  the  Bible  excepted,  that  can  produce  the  requisite  renova- 
tion in  the  popular  mass? 

I  must  be  allowed  to  say,  then,  as  before,  let  every  man  stand  at  his 
post;  let  the  copies  of  the  Scriptures  be  doubled,  trebled,  and  quadru- 
pled,- let  them  be  dispersed  through  the  entire  length  and  breadth  of 
the  land;  let  the  united  weight  of  Christian  influence  be  brought  to 
bear  upon  this  point; — and  the  most  salutary  result  maybe  anticipated. 
If  indeed  this  mode  of  operation  shall  fail — if  there  be  no  way  by  which 
the  public  mind  can  be  brought  to  acknowledge  and  to  feel  the  power 
of  revealed  truth,  then,  indeed,  it  is  time  to  despair  of  the  nation.  If 
this  remedy  shall  not  succeed,  then  there  is  none  other  to  which  we 
can  look  with  the  faintest  hope  of  success.  If  the  Word  of  God  shall 
prove  insufficient  to  stay  the  torrent  of  popular  violence,  which  is  even 
now  ready  to  overflow  the  country,  then  this  fearful  torrent  must  flow 
on — carrying  away  with  it  all  that  is  lovely  in  social  order,  and  all  that 
is  valuable  in  civil  freedom. 

Once  more — there  are  those  among  us,  who  speak  much  of  their  fears 
from  our  own  clergy.  They  profess  to  believe  that  all  the  benevolent 
institutions  of  the  age,  Bible  societies  not  excepted,  are  cunningly  de- 
vised schemes,  contrived  by  the  existing  priesthood,  for  the  purpose  of 
enslaving  the  nation.  Without  stopping  to  inquire  into  the  correct- 
ness or  incorrectness  of  this  view  of  the  case;  and  granting,  for  argu- 
ment's sake,  that  it  is  even  as  stated — granting  that  the  Protestant 
priesthood  of  this  country,  have  actually  laid  their  heads  together,  with 
the  view  of  enslaving  first,  the  church,  and  then,  the  nation — where,  it 
is  important  to  inquire,  is  the  appropriate  remedy?  Beyond  a  possible 
doubt,  that  remedy  is  to  be  found  in  the  Bible.  Most  unquestionably, 
if  the  Bible,  as  has  been  all  along  supposed,  and  as  I  must  think  has 
been  proved,  is  the  great  bulwark  of  civil  and  religious  liberty — the 
grand  engine  for  neutralizing  superstition,  and  papal  domination,  and 
infidel  corruption,  and  political  disorder  and  disorganization, — then 


14  SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT. 

the  Bible  is  the  only  sure  and  effectual  agency  for  casting  down  the  supposed  loftiness 
of  our  own  priesthood,  and  rescuing  the  nation  from  its  apprehended  domination.  It  is 
true,  agreeably  to  this  view  of  the  subject,  that  the  priests  act  very  absurdly  in  patronising 
the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures,  an  agency  so  well  calculated  to  defeat  their  alleged  in- 
tentions;— but  this  is  no  concern  of  ours.  The  Bible  is  the  certain  and  effectual  anti- 
dote against  all  that  threaten  the  tafetj'  of  our  institutions,  from  whatever  quarter  the 
danger  may  be  supposed  to  arise;  and  as  such,  challenges  the  support  of  ail  who  are 
friends  to  their  country,  and  their  country's  good. 

Should  I  happen  to  be  addressing  any  who  are  in  dread  of  Bible  societies,  Sunday 
schools,  &c,  to  such  I  would  say — My  friends,  these  institutions  are  the  very  things 
you  need  to  prevent  the  mischief  which  you  profess  to  apprehend.  Let  Bible  societies 
be  multiplied  and  sustained — lei,  the  Scriptures  be  ciieulated  and  read — let  the  influ- 
ence of  revealed  truth  be  known  and  felt  throughout  the  body  of  the  people,  and,  my 
word  for  it,  you  have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  priesthood,  eithsr  Catholic  or  Protestant, 
either  foreign  or  domestic. 

If  it  be  now  granted,  as  it  undoubtedly  must  be,  that  the  Bible  is  the  principal  de- 
fence of  the  civil  and  religious  freedom  of  this  nation,  then  it  immediately  becomes  a 
matter  of  the  first  importance  to  determine  by  what  means  this  agency  can  be  brought 
to  exert  its  full  force  on  the  popular  mass — so  that  its  renovating  influence  may  be  pro- 
pogated,  and  its  redeeming  efficacy  may  be  secured,  to  the  greatest  possible  extent. 

In  view  of  this  inquiry,  and  with  a  design  to  give  it  a  proper  and  satisfactory  answer, 
there  are  a  few  particulars  which  I  consider  worthy  of  special  attention.  They  are  the 
following: — 

In  the  first  place,  the  copies  of  the  Scriptures  should  be  multiplied  and  distributed 
until  every  member  of  society  shall  have  access  to  the  sacred  page.  I  very  well  know 
that  even  this  will  not  secure  the  object  contemplated  to  its  uttermost  extent.  I  know 
that  men  may  have  the  Scriptures  at  hand,  and  still  know  but  little  of  their  meaning, 
and  even  less  of  their  influence;  but  I  also  know  that,  where  the  Bible  is  not  to  be  had, 
it  cannot  be  read — and  that  where  it  is  not  read,  it  is  not  apt  to  be  either  understood  or 
regarded.  I  am  aware  that  there  may  be,  and  no  doubt  are  some  exceptions  to  this  last 
remark;  but  I  am  sure  that,  as  a  general  rule,  the  remark  is  correct;  and  I  am  sure, 
moreover,  that  as  the  copies  of  the  Scriptures  are  multiplied  in  any  given  community, 
in  that  same  proportion  their  truth  will  be  received,  and  their  influence  will  be  felt. — 
This  conclusion  is  so  obvious,  and  so  well  sustained  by  observation  and  experience, 
that  I  am  persuaded  it  will  be  neither  denied  nor  doubted  by  any  one  at  all  compe- 
tent to  judge  in  the  case. 

To  effect  this  result,  if  I  understand  the  matter  correctly,  is  the  object  of  the  instihuion, 
in  behalf  of  which  I  have  now  the  honor  to  address  you.  To  cany  the  word  of  life  to 
every  fireside  in  the  State,  and  as  far  as  practicable,  to  secure  the  reading  and  under- 
standing of  the  same,  is  the  principal  end  for  which  this  Society  was  formed,  and  to  which 
its  efforts  have  since  been  directed.  How  far  its  operations  have  been  successful*  I  have 
not  now  the  means  of  knowing;  but  I  know  that  its  object  is  one  of  the  first  importance 
to  the  cause  of  religion,  of  morals,  of  humanity,  and  of  national  security ;  that  its  services 


\ 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT.  15 

were  never  more  needed  than  they  are  at  present ;  and  that  it  deserves  the  willing  patron- 
age of  every  friend  to  his  country,  and  of  every  friend  to  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

I  am  not  unmindful  that  one  serious  impediment  to  the  end  in  view,  is  to  he  found  in 
the  number  of  our  population  who  are  unqualified  to  read.  This  remark  leads  to  another 
consideration,  intimately  connected  with  the  preceding,  which  is  worthy  of  the  most  so- 
lemn attention.  He  who  cannot  read,  can  never  be  well  informed  on  any  subject,  either 
sacred  or  Secular.  The  Word  of  God  can,  therefore,  never  produce  its  full  and  legitimate 
effect  on  any  coi.unuaity,  until  the  members  of  that  community  shall  have  been  qualified 
to  read  its  pages.  And  just  in  the  ratio  hi  which  the  population  of  this  State  are  unable 
to  read,  in  that  same  ratio  will  the  word  of  inspired  wisdom  come  short  of  its  full  and  pro- 
per results.     Ah  this  'is  too  obvious  to  admit  of  a  moment's  hesitation. 

Where,  then,  I  ask,  is  the  proper  remedy?  Beyond  a  possible  doubt,  the  only  reme- 
dy that  the  case  will  admit,  is  to  be  found  in  the  education  of  the  people.  Let  the  cause 
of  education  be  promoted — let  the  advantages  of  rudimental  learning  be  afforded  to  every 
family — let  our  entire  population  be  qualified  to  read  the  Scriptures — and  one  serious  ob- 
stacle to  the  moral  culture  of  society  will  be  taken  away ;  one  of  the  strong  holds  of  cor- 
ruption will  be  broken  up ;  and  one  important  step  will  be  taken  towards  the  preservation 
of  our  civil  and  religious  institutions. 

It  is  no  part  of  my  duty,  on  the  present  occasion,  to  point  out  the  means  of  accomplish- 
ing tins  end.  Tins  is  more  properly  the  work  of  our  philosophers  and  statesmen.  But  I 
consider  it  my  duty  to  insist  on  the  importance  of  the  thing  itself;  and  I  am  confident 
that  it  is  a  point  on  which  I  am  in  no  danger  of  insisting  too  much.  The  cause  of  com- 
mon school  education  is  a  cause  which  demands  the  earnest  and  immediate  attention  of 
every  friend  of  his  country ;  and  a  cause  which  cannot  be  neglected  much  longer  without 
the  most  painful,  if  not  the  most  disastrous  consequences.  As  has  been  already  observed, 
even  the  Bible  can  avail  but  little,  when  men  are  not  competent  to  read  and  understand 
its  lessons.  You  may  therefore  be  assured,  my  hearers,  that,  as  Christians  and  as  patriots, 
it  behooves  you  to  give  instant  attention  to  the  matter  proposed;  and,  while  benevolently 
occupied  in  imparting  the  Word  of  Life  to  all  the  families  of  our  State,  neglect  not,  I  be- 
seech you,  the  means  necessary  to  secure  a  more  general  ability  to  read  and  appreciate  its 
precepts. 

Another  method  by  which  the  influence  of  the  Scriptures  on  the  popular  mind,  might 
be  vastly  increased,  is  the  employment  of  the  Bible  as  a  school  book.  Were  the  present 
a  suitable  occasion,  it  could  be  easily  shown,  that  the  Bible,  considered  merely  as  a  litera- 
ry production,  setting  aside  entirely  its  peculiar  claims  as  a  work  of  inspiration,  is  entitled 
to  a  conspicuous  place  hi  every  seminary  of  learning.  This,  however,  is  not  the  time  nor 
the  place  for  such  discussion ;  nor  is  it  at  all  necessary  to  my  present  object.  It  is  all-suf- 
ficient to  remark — what  must  be  obvious  to  every  one  on  reflection — that  the  practice  of 
employing  the  Bible  as  a  school  book,  would  give  it  a  powerful  ascendency  over  the  popu- 
lar rnhid,  and  would  tend  directly  and  vastly  to  promote  the  object  which  we  have  now 
in  view.  To  say  nothing  of  the  all-important  lessons  of  wisdom,  which  would  be  leameSd 
by  such  use  of  the  Scriptures,  the  minds  of  the  young  would  thereby  conceive  a  venera- 
tion for  the  revealed  will  of  God,  which  would  rarely  fail  to  be  retained  through  life,  and 
which,  under  existing  circumstances,  is  very  apt  to  be  superseded  by  neglect  and  disre- 
spect. 


16 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PULPIT. 


What  has  led  to  the  exclusion  of  God's  Word  from  our  colleges,  academies,  and  com- 
mon schools,  it  is  a  matter  of  no  importance  now  to  inquire.  This  much,  however,  I 
will  say — and  it  deserves  to  be  duly  and  solemnly  considered — that  no  method  would 
have  been  adopted,  better  calculated  to  injure  the  credit  of  the  Sacred  Record,  and  to 
prejudice  the  public  mind  against  its  utility,  than  that  of  which  I  now  speak.  How,  I 
ask,  could  the  doctrine  have  been  more  scientifically  or  more  successfully  inculcated,  that 
the  Word  of  God  is  unfit  for  common  use — for  the  contemplation  and  practice  of  mankind 
in  general,  than  by  excluding  it  from  our  places  of  learning,  and  virtually  restricting  it  to 
the  service  of  the  sanctuary? 

I  have  only  to  add,  on  this  point,  that  this  is  an  error  which  greatly  needs  correction. 
The  claims  of  the  Bible,  and  the  interests  of  religion,  of  morals,  of  social  order,  and  of 
national  prosperity,  all,  all  demand  that  the  word  of  God  should  be  reinstated  in  our 
seats  of  learning-^that  it  should  receive  the  pre-eminent  and  universal  respect  to  which 
it  is  entitled — and  that  its  moral  precepts,  its  lessons  of  virtue,  and  its  holy  and  sublime 
principles  of  religion,  should  be  impressed  with  unsparing  attention  upon  the  minds  of 
the  rising  generation. 

Finally,  of  all  others,  perhaps  the  most  efficacious  means  of  spreading  abroad  the  in- 
fluence of  inspired  truth,  is  the  appropriate  use  of  the  pulpit.  An  enlightened,  faithful, 
devoted  ministry,  has  ever  been  regarded  as  the  bulwark  of  the  church,  and  the  great 
instrumentality,  second  only  to  the  Bible  itself,  of  diffusing  the  influence  of  moral  and 
religious  truth.  All  this  is  so  well  understood,  especially  by  those  whom  I  now  ad- 
dress, that  to  insist  on  it  further  would  only  be  to  incur  a  waste  of  time. 

Then,  let  every  one  who  admits  the  value  of  biblical  instruction  and  biblical  influ- 
ence, use  his  personal  exertions  to  secure  the  attainment  of  an  able  and  faithful  minis- 
try, and  to  sustain  the  regular  administration  of  the  Word  of  Life;  that  the  public  mind 
may  be  thoroughly  enlightened;  and  that  the  moral  and  religious  influence  of  revealed 
truth,  may  be  made  to  operate  on  every  part  of  the  social  system. 

Such,  then,  are  the  means,  the  more  general  and  efficacious  means,  of  spreading 
abroad  the  remedial  influence  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  Touching  each  of  these,  I  have 
aimed  at  nothing  more  than  a  brief  suggestion.  More  than  this,  my  time  did  not  allow; 
and  more,  I  presume,  the  occasion  did  not  demand.  The  value  of  an  abundant  supply 
of  the  Book  of  Life — of  common  education  among  the  people — of  the  use  of  the  Bible 
as  a  school  book — and  of  an  enlightened  and  efficient  ministry,  are  positions  which  need 
only  to  be  stated,  to  be  understood  and  acknowledged. 

It  only  remains,  then,  to  sum  up  the  argument,  and  leave  it  with  the  audience  for 
their  present  and  future  contemplation.  My  hearers,  my  appeal  is  to  you,  as  Christians 
and  as  patriots — as  the  friends  of  religion,  of  virtue,  of  social  order,  and  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious freedom.  Of  the  present  condition  of  the  country,  you  can  be  no  longer  igno- 
rant. That  popery,  infidelity,  political  strife,  and  popular  commotion  and  violence, 
have  already  united  their  energies,  and  are  even  now  threatening  the  subversion  of  our 
free  institutions,  can  no  longer  admit  of  a  question.  That  there  is  a  surprising  degree 
of  apathy  and  insensibility  to  the  dangers  which  threaten  the  nation,  is  no  less  certain 
and  alarming.  Is  it  not  plain,  then,  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt,  that  it  becomes 
every  man  to  awake  and  stand  at  his  post]  Is  it  not  plain  that  it  behooves  you,  and 
me,  and  all  of  us — every  one  who  loves  his  country  and  his  country's  cause — to  gird 
himself  for  the  onset,  and  promptly  co-operate  for  the  general  good! 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00033988855 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


Form  No.  A-368,  Rev.  8/95 


